Picking Up The Pieces
by rnovak
Summary: Elliot has something he hasn't told anyone yet. When his secrecy soon affects those he cares most about, will Olivia be there to help him pick up the pieces? E/O *please read and review
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I write for myself and not for anyone else. It's just kinda cool to get positive reviews, I always appreciate it *hinthint :)

*Disclaimer: The follow material is used for entertainment purposes only; _rnovak_ does not own any of the recognized characters or other associations. All rights are reserved to the original creator and network.

Detective Olivia Benson walked into the 1-6 precinct carrying a tray of coffee in one hand and bag of muffins in the other. She entered the warmth of the building shivering from the cold wind that was blowing the snow about outside. She hummed happily to herself as the elevator brought her up to her floor. As she stepped out of the elevator, she was met immediately with the grateful and smiling faces of her colleagues.

"Benson you are a God-sent" Fin said from across the room as he got up from his desk to help Olivia with the tray of hot drinks.

"Hey! Now, what's wrong with the coffee that I make?" Munch asked, pretending to be offended as he took his own cup from Olivia.

She put the bag of muffins down on her desk before taking off her long winter coat. Just then Captain Cragen emerged from his office, "I thought I smelled good coffee around here! Thanks Liv" he said smirking at Munch.

"Not a problem. I thought we could all use one this morning since we've all had a pretty long week here. I'm just glad we finally got a confession out of our guy yesterday. By the way has anyone seen El?" Olivia asked, looking around the squad room.

"Uh yeah he's in court this morning with Cabot, he's testifying in the Whitman's case I think" Cragen answered as he took a sip of his coffee. "Alright guys, good work yesterday, but we're not officially done until paperwork is on my desk. So get to it!" he said before walking back into his office.

Olivia pulled out her phone to send a quick text to her partner

Hey El. Didn't know you were in court with Cabot this morning, brought you coffee. Let me know when you're done I'll go out and get you a new one. God knows you'll deserve it when Langan's done cross examining you ;)

She shoved her phone back into her pocket before sitting down at her desk to start on her DD5's. A couple of hours later, Olivia was struggling to keep herself awake, even with the caffeine boost, after staring at so many files, the words just seemed to blur together. She was about to get up to stretch her legs when she saw Munch waving at her from the other side of the room. Her brows burrowed in confusion until she realized that he was on the phone. "Hey Liv?" he called, still holding the phone to his ear "Um, Elliot's kid's school is on line 2 for you, can I patch 'em through?".

Shocked, Olivia sat back down "Yeah John of course" she said. The phone at her desk rang and immediately picked it up, crossing her fingers that his kids were okay. She knew it was twin's high school calling because both Maureen and Kathleen were away at collage. "Olivia Benson" she answered, "Uh no, he's testifying in court right now. Is everything okay?... Mhm.. Yes that's me… Oh, um yeah absolutely I'll uh be right down". She hung up the phone and realized that Fin, Munch and Cragen were all standing around her with raised eyebrows.

"Is everything alright Olivia?" Cragen asked.

"Yeah Cap, the school that Elliot's kids go to just called and asked if I could come down there right away since El's still in court. I um, hope that's not a problem Cap I just finished my DD5's" Olivia said, while she put her thick coat back on.

"Sure Liv, take the rest of the day. Is everything okay with the kids?" he asked, concerned.

"I really don't know Don, they wouldn't tell me over the phone. I'm kind of worried myself" Olivia answered honestly as she walked towards the doors. Cragen just nodded in understanding before shouting "Wait! Liv, one more thing! … Where's Kathy?" he asked suddenly confused why the school had called Olivia and not the children's mother.

Olivia stepped into the elevator "I don't know Cap, but I'll text El on my way" she said as the door closed in front of her. Getting into her car Olivia texted her partner,

Hey El, the twin's school called me, I said you were in court then they asked me to come down. I'm on my way there now. Don't worry I'm sure it's nothing. Call me later. Liv.

Throwing her phone back into her purse, she buckled up and began driving towards Queens. Traffic was light, so it was a relatively short ride, but even still Olivia couldn't help but think about what had happened to the twins. Was it Dickie? Was it Lizzie? Was it both of them? In the four years that they had been at that school, never once had Olivia gotten called down, even though she was their emergency contact. What had happened today that had been so severe that she needed to be called in? Plus, the twins were almost eighteen now, it must be serious to be calling in a parent- er, well Olivia at this stage when they had never had problems before. Worst-case scenarios rolled through her mind as she pressed down on the accelerator a little bit harder, increasing the already fast speed of the car. Finally she approached the school and pulled into the visitor's parking lot. Before she got of the car, she checked her phone once more to see if Elliot had responded. She had no new messages from Elliot and so she took a deep breath and walked swiftly through the front doors and towards the main office.

Olivia stood patiently in front of and elderly looking secretary who seemed to be focused on some papers in front of her. Finally after a few minutes she looked up "Oh, I'm sorry deary. I didn't see you there. How can I help you?".

Before Olivia could reply a young woman came out what Olivia could only assume was her office and walked right up to Olivia, greeting her with a smile and a handshake. "Ah, you must be Detective Olivia Benson" the woman guessed, eyeing Olivia's gun that rested on her hip, "I'm Lauren Kale we spoke on the phone, I'm the principal here. I know with your busy schedule it must be difficult to get away so I really appreciate you coming down here" she said, introducing herself.

Olivia stood not knowing exactly what to say to the woman who already seemed to know her. Plastering a smile, Olivia simply said "It's nice to meet you. Are the kids okay?" she asked directly.

Ms. Kale's demeanor changed instantly as she put a hand on Olivia's shoulder and said "You better come in detective" ushering Olivia into her office and closing the door gently behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for all the positive feedback. Please, please, please keep reviewing! I love hearing what you all think! Don't forget to check out and review my other SVU EO stories as well! Cheers! xx

"Please have a seat Detective Benson" the principal said motioning towards the seat across hers as she sat behind her desk. "Would you like some tea?" she offered.

"No thank you, I'm alright" Olivia answered sitting down uncomfortably in the chair "And please, you can call me Olivia" she said.

Lauren Kale sipped on her own cup of tea "Ah, Olivia what a pretty name" she said almost spacing out.

"I'm sorry if I'm being too forward Ms. Kale, but could you please tell me why I'm here? Where are Dic- er, Richard and Elizabeth?" Olivia asked getting frustrated with the principal's nonchalant behavior. It had been weird calling the twins by their full names; even though they were practically adults now they would always be Dickie and Lizzie to her, she just wasn't sure if they went by their nicknames at school.

"Call me Lauren" she said returning Olivia's gesture as she put her teacup down, clasping her hands in front of her on her desk. Taking a deep breath she stared at Olivia "I know you're the twins emergency contact but before I divulge any information may I just ask exactly what your relationship to them is?" she asked somewhat hesitantly as she once again eyed Olivia's gun.

Olivia leaned back in her seat, taken back by the question. She was about to answer when she paused, 'What _is_ my relationship with the kids?' she asked herself. To Olivia, the answer was simple; she was her partner and best friend's children whom she cared for like her own and even though she had experienced ups and downs with each child, at the end of the day there was no doubt in her mind how much she loved these kids. But she couldn't very well say all that to someone she didn't even know… After taking another second to gather her thoughts, Olivia settled on "I'm a family friend" she said with a smile.

Lauren nodded, satisfied with Olivia's answer before proceeding; "Well Olivia, it's like this… Richard and Elizabeth have been having some problems here at school lately. Yes, their grades have slipped but I'm not quite as worried about them in an academic sense. They've been experiencing social difficulties with their peers and-"

Olivia cut her off "I'm sorry but, are you sure this conversation can't wait until their parents are available to come in? I know their father would want to speak to you directly rather" Olivia offered, not understanding why she had been called down to talk about something that didn't seem quite as urgent as _Lauren'_s phone call had been made out to be.

"Well, actually that's just it… ever since the divorce he kids have-" once again she was cut off.

"What divorce?" she asked

"Their parent's of course" Lauren answered, scoffing as if it were painfully obvious. Seeing the shock and confusion in Olivia's face, she blushed realizing she may have overstepped.

"I'm sorry Ms. Benson. I thought you knew. It was finalized a few weeks ago, Mr. Stabler had to come in to change contact information. His ex-wife's parental rights have been terminated. That's why we called you today when we couldn't get a hold of their father; you and Mr. Stabler are now the only ones we are allowed to contact regarding Richard and Elizabeth" she explained.

Though Olivia was genuinely confused, angry and hurt that Elliot hadn't said a word about any of this to her, she refused to show it in front of her, and she was still unclear about why she had been called in _today_.

"So what happened today that was so urgent?" Olivia asked ignoring the principal's attempt at an explanation.

"Well, it's more like what hasn't happened today!" she scoffed, forgetting all about the awkward tension in the room. "Richard got into a pretty bad fight with one of his classmates in-between classes, the two boys were going at it and we had to have a couple of our male teachers break them apart before anyone got too seriously injured; we're sending him home for the day. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough last period Elizabeth came running out of her Math class sobbing hysterically and she won't tell anyone what happened; we think it's best if you take her home as well Ms. Benson" the principal finished.

Olivia sat there trying to absorb all the information that this woman had just laid at her feet in the last half hour, deciding to start by making sure the kids were okay. "Of course I'll take them home. I'd like to see them. Where are they now?" she asked anxious to get out of this office.

"They should be waiting right outside by now, but Olivia," she began, stopping Olivia from getting out of her chair in a hurry "I think Richard will be just find, but I must say that I think Elizabeth is in a rather fragile state right now. I don't know how to get through to her, my gut feeling is that she's missing a maternal figure in her life, but that's just my opinion" Lauren offered.

"Well thank you very much Ms. Hale for the call, you've been very helpful. Is it alright if I take the kids home now? I'm sure they're exhausted" Olivia said.

"Of course. Oh! And if you could, will you please pass the information along to their father for us?" the principal asked.

"Absolutely" Olivia answered before shaking the principals hand and reaching for the door handle. As soon as she opened the door, her eyes scanned the room looking for the kids, finally finding Dickie and Lizzie sitting in a couple of chairs looking very sad and very frightened, not to mention Dickie was sporting a very nice bruise on the side of his face and his jaw seemed a little swollen. Seeing Olivia emerge from their principal's office they both jumped out of their seats, Dickie spoke first.

"Liv! What are you doing here? Wait, stupid question… Liv I'm so sorry I didn't really mean to get into a fight I just-" Dickie was interrupted by his sister.

"LIV! I'm so happy to see you! Can you please take us home?" she asked as she threw her arms around Olivia, nearly knocking the detective off balance.

Olivia looked between the two kids "Of course I'll take you home, but how bout some hot chocolate first?" she suggested with a smile before whispering "And Dickie… don't worry about it" she said. Olivia signed the twins out before swinging Lizzie's school bag onto her shoulder and ushering the kids out of the building. They had just walked through the front doors when Elliot came running up to them, huffing and puffing, "LIV! Thank God! I'm so sorry.. Wait Dickie! What happened to you? Where are you guy's headed? Lizzie honey why is your face all red? Would someone please tell me what's going on?" Elliot rambled.

Olivia pulled Elliot's shoulder and dragged him off to the side out of earshot of the kids "HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME?!" she demanded.

It took Elliot a millisecond to figure out what she was talking about and immediately felt guilty, "Liv, I'm so, so sorry. I was just waiting for the right time and-"

"Not good enough El! You know everything about me! Even the parts I wish I could forget. How could you not trust me enough to tell me not only that you got a divorce but that Kathy's rights had been terminated!? What the hell happened?! You know what, it doesn't even matter. But what does matter, are those amazing kids of yours who are seriously hurting from whatever's been going on- and _that's_ why the school called me down here today" Olivia said before starting to walk off.

"Olivia wait!" Elliot called running after her "Liv, I'm sorry give me chance to explain. Please don't walk away from me. Liv I… I need you".

Olivia stopped in her tracks and spun around to face Elliot. Elliot took that as an opportunity to continue "How about we all go get something nice and hot to drink and we can sit down and talk about this… together? C'mon Liv, you still owe me from this morning" he said almost pouting before gesturing to the kids.

"That's where we were going dad before you came and freaked out" Dickie said, causing Olivia and Elliot to chuckle.

"Can I ride with Liv daddy?" Lizzie asked, looking at her father.

"Well if it's okay with Liv.." Elliot began

"Sure baby, c'mon I'm parked over in the parking lot. Unlike some people who seem to just leave their car in the middle of the road" she said motioning at Elliot's car and playfully hitting him in the arm.

"Alright we'll meet you guys at that place down the street" Elliot said and as he watched Olivia and his daughter walk towards the car arm in arm, his heart began to melt.

"Dad! Let's go. Stop staring at Liv's ass" Dickie said smacking his dad on the back, causing Elliot to playfully smack his son in the head before getting in the car and driving off to the a coffee shop that was close to the school.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: What do you guys think? Please send me review! Cheers!

Olivia and Lizzie sat across from Elliot and Dickie in a quiet booth in a small coffee shop that was just down the street from the twin's school. They sipped their hot chocolates while Dickie and Lizzie took turns telling their dad and Olivia how since the divorce they had been getting picked on and bullied at school.

Dickie took a sip of hot chocolate before explaining how he had gotten into a fight today "I only punched that kid because he called mom a filthy slut for running away with her new _boyfriend_ Randal. He was saying all these horrible things about her. And I didn't know what else to do to get him to shut up" Dickie explained.

Olivia, who was still slightly out of the loop, confused with the situation piped up "Kathy did what?!" She exclaimed looking over at Elliot for some answers.

Elliot looked up from his own cup of cocoa, "I'm sorry Liv, there's a lot I should've told you. I guess I was just a little embarrassed by everything that was going on and I didn't really know where to start" he said.

Olivia put a hand on top of Elliot's reassuring him that nothing he said could make her think any less of him, "It's okay El, but from the beginning would be nice" she said as Lizzie chuckled beside her.

"Yeah dad why didn't you just tell Liv, it might have saved us all some time now" Dickie added jokingly.

"Alright, alright" Elliot said taking a sip of his drink before continuing "A couple of months ago I walked in late one night after a long case and I saw Kathy in bed with a man, who wasn't me mind you. I walked right out of the room and Kathy ran after me, trying to come up with some sort of good excuse, as if there was any excuse for being unfaithful. The man ran out of our house, having some nerve telling Kathy that he'd 'call her later'.. Then we got into one of the biggest fights we've ever had. She yelled at me for all the usual things; not being around enough, working too late, accusing me of cheating on her with you.. Yah know everything she usually yelled at me for towards the end of our marriage" Elliot stated nonchalantly even though Olivia's head had perked up, shocked from that last part of Elliot's list. "We fought and cried until we decided it was finally time that we went our separate ways, permanently this time. It just wasn't working. We hadn't been in love with each other for a long time now" Elliot continued quietly. "We finalized our divorce in the weeks that followed, but Kathy never showed up to the custody hearing. We found out later that she had ran away with a guy named Randal, who wasn't even the same guy that she had been cheating on me with. So, Kathy lost her parental rights to _my_ wonderful kids and I thought everything was done" Elliot said, turning to face his kids "But I guess I was wrong, we still have some things to work out huh kids?" Elliot said as he put a hand on Dickie's shoulder.

Lizzie smiled, "Yeah dad, but it's obvious that Dickie takes after you. You know, going around punching people" Lizzie joked, sticking her tongue out at her father "but you'd be proud of him, if you think Dickie looks bad, you should see the other guy" she said causing everyone to break out into a fit of laughter.

Olivia looked up, still a little bit confused, "But wait guys, I don't get it.. when I was in school, tons of people had divorced parents and no one ever got bullied because of it.. is there something I'm missing?"

Dickie scoffed, "Yeah Liv, we got to a private _Catholic_ school. So not only that mom sin by divorcing dad but she also committed adultery with not one but God knows how many men" Dickie explained.

Olivia, who still had her hand on top of Elliot's looked up at him "I'm sorry about everything El, you know I'm always going to be here for you and these amazing kids" she said sweetly, smiling at Dickie and Lizzie.

"Yeah Liv, you'd never leave us like Kathy did" Dickie said, refusing to call _her_ his mom. Just because he didn't like other people talking smack about Kathy or anyone he cared about, it didn't mean he still wanted her in his life.

"Okay enough guys I really don't want to talk about this anymore" Lizzie pleaded, resting her head on Olivia's shoulder. Having had enough of this rather serious conversation she opted for some lighter topic "So did you guys here the news this morning?! _The Bachelor_ actually proposed to Lindsey last night!" Lizzie exclaimed excitedly as Dickie groaned, causing Elliot to laugh before his youngest daughter rambled on and on about her favourite reality show.

The four of them kept causal conversation for a while talking about anything and everything, from_ The Bachelor _to how the New York Knicks were doing in the playoffs, and they had even talked about whether or not the kids thought that Maureen's boyfriend would propose soon. Elliot had sat back smiling, it had been a while since he had been with his kids talking and laughing like this.

By the time they had all finished their hot chocolates, the group had talked and laughed so much that they had gotten the attention of a couple of elderly ladies who we're walking by. One of the ladies, who had very grey hair put a hand on Elliot's shoulder "May we just say that you have such an absolutely adorable family. Your kids seem lovely and that wife of yours is absolutely stunning" she said smiling at Olivia who had began to turn a bright shade of red. Olivia was just about to correct the kind lady to say that her and Elliot were just friends when Elliot opened his mouth and beat her to the punch "Thank you so much ma'am actually our oldest daughters are away at school but I sure think my family's pretty great" he said smiling as Lizzie as Dickie nodded their heads in agreement, both beaming at the fact that their dad had just used the word "our" in reference to the kids, implying that Olivia was in fact their mom.

The lady turned to face Olivia, who was still blushing and said "You're a very lucky woman" before smiling again and walking away.

Olivia just sat there secretly wishing that she was that lucky.

"You okay Liv?" Elliot asked with a half smile.

"Yeah, just uh, thinking that's all" Olivia said before moving to slide out of the booth "Okay well I uh, better get going, I'll leave you guys alone. If you need anything call-"

"Wait! Can't you come over for dinner?" Lizzie asked, looking to her brother and father for help to her Olivia to stay.

"No, that's okay you guys should spend some time together I wouldn't want to impose" Olivia said awkwardly.

"Liv don't be silly! The very least I can do is make us dinner after you bailed us all out today" Elliot insisted with a wink.

That wink nearly cause Olivia's knees to buckle as she suddenly couldn't come up with any more reasons not to join them for dinner. "Uh, well okay then. I'm just going to pop home first and change then I can be over in a little bit. Can I bring anything?" She asked.

"Just yourself Liv, that's more than enough" Elliot said before flashing Olivia a big smile and sliding out of the booth himself. "Oh and Liv.. thanks. For everything. I don't know what I did to deserve you in my life Liv." He said as he kissed her gently on the cheek and walked out with his kids.

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Alright here is another chapter! Guys, I've had a TERRIBLE week can you PLEASE review and cheer me up?! Thanks xx.

Olivia entered her apartment and threw her keys onto the hallways table as she walked towards her bedroom. She fell back onto her bed, her head spinning from the afternoon she had just had. She had woken up this morning ready for a boring day at work, filled with stacks of paperwork from the grueling that they had _just _finished. Instead, she had a world wind of a day that was far from boring. But what had left her feeling more confused than anything was the encounter that Elliot and Olivia had had towards the end of their talk with the kids. It had been different from their usual playful banter or flirting, it had been sincere and genuine. Olivia sat up and struggled to take off her work blazer, leaving her sitting on her bed in a blank tank top and slacks. She sat there, not knowing what to replace her work clothes with. She had been over to Elliot's house for dinner dozens of times before, but this time was different… and it was the first time she would be having dinner with Elliot as a newly divorced man. She stared blankly at her closet, mentally trying on different outfits. Finally she settled on her favourite pair of jeans and a new, blue V-neck sweater she had bought a few days ago; she pulled her brown hair back into a soft ponytail before applying a little bit of makeup. After looking at her watch to check the time, Olivia grabbed her car keys and decided to run a few errands before heading over to the Stabler residence.

Half an hour later Olivia was walking up to Elliot's doorstep holding her purse and a chocolate cake, the twin's favourite. She barely even knocked, when Dickie swung open the door. Olivia was about to say hello when she noticed Dickie's face; something was wrong. Before she could say anything she head yelling coming from the kitchen and looked at Dickie who was simply shaking his head.

"YOU DON'T GET IT!"

"I DO GET IT. I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL ONCE TOO"

"WELL NEWSFLASH DAD TIMES HAVE CHANGED SINCE THE DINOSAURS"

"ELIZABETH STABLER"

The shouting stopped and Olivia and Dickie could hear Lizzie break into tears

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IT IS. MAUREEN AND KATHLEEN ARE GONE, MOM ABANDONED US NOW THERE'S NO ONE LEFT FOR ME TO TALK TO"

"Lizzie, you can talk to me" Elliot said softly

"No I can't, you're my dad. YOU JUST DON'T GET IT!"

And they had come full circle as Lizzie ran through the hallway and up the stairs in a hysterical fit of sobs.

Olivia looked at Dickie who was clearly just as lost as she was, "Um, here Liv, let me take that for you I'll uh, put it in the kitchen" Dickie offered, taking the cake from Olivia.

Just then Elliot came walking out of the kitchen and stopped in his tracks, "Liv. I didn't even hear the door. You probably heard-" Elliot stopped as Olivia nodded her head. "I don't know what to do. She's right, she can't really talk to me and not because I don't want her to but because there are some thing that she's probably uncomfortable talking to her dad about and to be honest I'm not sure I would want to hear it. God, Liv, I just don't know what to do, I'm a horrible father".

Olivia gave Elliot a tight hug, wrapping her arms around his waist " El, listen to me you are not a horrible father. You are the best parent any child could ask for. Now let me talk to her; sometimes a girl just needs a girl to talk to" Olivia said as she ran up the stairs after Lizzie. Olivia walked across the hallway until she got to Lizzie's room and gently knocked on the door. "Go away" accompanied by sobs was all she heard in return.

Slowly, Olivia pushed open the door to the teenage girl's room, when there were no protests or shouts, Olivia gently said "Lizzie, it's me" as she closed the door slightly behind her. Olivia's heart nearly broke in two as she saw the girl that held her heart curled up in a ball on her bed crying her eyes out. Olivia quickly ran over to the bed and pulled Lizzie close to her, trying to comfort her. Lizzie continued to cry, speaking in pieces, between sobs. 'Its not fair… Maureen had mom, Kathleen had Maureen _and_ mom and now everyone's just left me"

"Lizzie, honey, your sisters love you very, very much. I'm sure if you called them they'd be more than happy to spend a weekend with you or you could Skype or-"

"It's not the same Liv" Lizzie said, as she seemed to be calming down.

"I wasn't finished Lizzie, I was going to say that no matter what, you will always have me. Okay? I promise I will never leave you and I will always be here for you".

Lizzie cuddled up against Olivia, "Liv, people at school are picking on me because of what mom did. They're saying mean things about her and how I'm going to turn out just like her".

Olivia held Lizzie close to her while she spoke, "Don't listen to them Lizzie, you are your own person. Your own wonderful, talented, smart, funny, BEAUTIFUL person and anyone who says otherwise is just jealous because you have a dad who will do anything to make you happy, a brother who will protect you until the end of the world, two sisters who are great role models in your life and… you do know a pretty cool detective who loves you very much" Olivia added as she stroked Lizzie's hair.

Lizzie laughed for the first time that night and Olivia breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Lizzie, I don't ever want you to think that you don't have anyone to talk to. Your dad is the greatest man I have ever met and he loves you guys so much. There isn't anything you could tell him that could change that" Olivia said honestly "And for the things that you maybe would rather not talk to your father about, you know you can call me baby, day or night".

"Thank you Liv that means a lot to me" Lizzie said as she sat up in her bed.

Dickie hesitantly opened the door and walked in "Knock, knock. Is it safe to come in?" he asked jokingly.

Olivia laughed "Yes Dickie, girl time is over. Why? Do you want a hug too?"" she asked.

"Sure Liv. But actually I just came for my sister." Lizzie looked up confused before Dickie continued "I thought we could go out, maybe see a movie. It's been a stressful day. I was hoping we could catch that new Adam Sandler flick" Dickie said hopefully.

Lizzie brightened up "Yeah Dickie that sounds perfect thanks!" she said as she bounced out of her bed and following her brother down the stairs after giving Liv a quick hug and thanking her again. Olivia sat on the edge of Lizzie's bed as a sad smile crept across her face; she loved Elliot's kids like her own, a small part of her wanted nothing more than to have a baby of her own one day. Sighing, Olivia got up from the bed and began walking out of Lizzie's bedroom, closing the girl's door behind her. Olivia hadn't even gotten the chance to hear the door click before being suddenly spun around.

A warm hand held her closely and she reveled in Elliot's touch. Olivia caught her breath as Elliot pressed her up against the wall, his arm still lingering on her waist. "Olivia Benson, you are amazing you know that?" he said, leaning in, getting dangerously closer. Olivia felt her knees buckle as she stared into his piercing pools of blue eyes.

Elliot saw Olivia's face soften "So I've been told" she said smugly. She had barley finished her sentence when Elliot's lips crashed into hers. Olivia heard herself moan at the taste of Elliot's lips as she wrapped her arms securely around his neck. Their bodies molded together and she clung to Elliot as if though he were her lifeline. Her body filled with ecstasy as the kiss deepened. In that moment, nothing else seemed to matter as they held onto one another, neither willing to let go, never breaking the kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Should I continue? Are you guys still reading? Please send me a review! It would mean a lot. Cheers!**

Olivia slowly pulled away gasping for air having kissed Elliot with everything she had in her. "El, what are doing?" she asked as she caught her breath.

"Something we should have done a long time ago" Elliot answered simply as he pulled her close again and planted another passionate kiss on her lips.

Olivia kissed him back until she heard the sound of the front door open again.

"Dad, Liv?" they heard Dickie shout from downstairs "The movie sold out and we really don't want to see anything else so we're just gonna stay home. Where are you guys?" he yelled walking through the kitchen.

"Coming!" Elliot said, never taking his eyes off of Olivia.

Olivia followed Elliot down the stairs and found the twins in the kitchen; Lizzie was pouring herself a glass of water while Dickie was on the phone.

"Who's your brother on the phone with sweetheart?" Elliot asked pouring himself and Olivia some water too.

"The pizza place. Since we figured it was too late for anyone to cook so we decided to order some pizza. Pineapple and mushroom okay with you Liv?" Lizzie asked, looking over at Dickie who was still on hold.

"Yum! That sounds perfect" Olivia said as she walked into the living room and plopped herself down on the couch.

Leaving the twins in the kitchen, Elliot trailed a few steps behind her. As he sat down next to her, he turned his head to face her and whispered softly, "Liv, I've known for a while. I just didn't know how to tell you, but after hearing you comfort Lizzie like that, I couldn't help myself anymore".

Olivia tried to hold back her tears, "El, can we not talk about this now please" she begged. It wasn't that she didn't feel the same way, because God knows she had fallen in love with her partner years ago. She just never expected him to share the same feelings and after the chaotic day she had had, Olivia didn't know if she could handle any more curveballs at the moment. She needed some time to digest everything that had happened, after all she just found out that Elliot was divorced only hours ago; and since then she had already kissed the man twice! Olivia was about to get up off of the couch, when Elliot placed a hand on her leg.

"Liv, I know you're scared, I'm scared too but I can't ignore these feeling anymore. Look my in the eyes and tell me you don't feel the same way… Tell me, tell me that you don't love me," he proposed.

Olivia bit down on her lowers lip and she looked down trying to avoid Elliot's sparkling eyes, "El… I can't," she said honestly.

Elliot raised Olivia's chin up slightly so that he could stare into her beautiful big brown eyes, "Olivia, I love you," he said as he leaned in to press a soft kiss onto Olivia's lips.

At first Olivia's first instinct was to pull away and run out the front door as fast as she could, but her feelings overtook any sense of fear that she had and she slowly began to kiss Elliot back as a single tear slipped from her face. When they finally pulled apart, Elliot gently wiped Olivia's tear away and struggled to catch his breath. He reached down to take Olivia's hands in his. Olivia gently squeezed them back, but she wasn't ready to talk about_ it_ yet, but on the other hand she wasn't quite ready to leave yet either; besides…. She was starving.

From the kitchen, Dickie and Lizzie were smiling having witnessed their dad finally kiss the one woman who always cared about them. Lizzie was practically jumping up and down with joy when Dickie said, "Some top detectives they are, they've been partners for how many years and they're just _now_ figuring out that they have the hots for each other". Lizzie laughed at her twin, "Just be happy they finally realize it" she said as she pushed passed Dickie to get a better view.

DING DONG. The sound of the doorbell startled everyone and Olivia quickly let go of Elliot's hands as Dickie ran towards the door. Dickie paid the deliveryman and closed the front door before turning back around. The wonderful aroma of pizza soon filled the house, "C'mon guys I'm starving!" Dickie whined as he walked towards the kitchen carrying the pizza boxes with him, followed closely by Lizzie.

Elliot stared at Olivia, wondering what to say and hoping that she wasn't going to run. As if she could read his mind, Olivia gently tugged Elliot towards the kitchen, "Let's go Stabler, you promised me food!" she said playfully.

Sitting around the kitchen table, Elliot sat back smiling wider than he had in a while. This felt so right; the only people missing were Maureen and Kathleen. He watched as Dickie and Lizzie chatted with Olivia, pausing every few sentences to dig into a new piece of the delicious pizza. "You really want to be a cop Lizzie?" Olivia asked slightly surprised. For as long as Olivia had been a part of the Stabler's lives, she knew that from time to time the kids resented their dad's job.

"Yeah Liv. I've thought a lot about it and I really do want to make a difference in the world but I also kinda want to be like you Liv!" Lizzie answered shyly.

Olivia felt her heart melt and she reached over across the table to grab Lizzie's hand, "That's so sweet. I will be proud of you no matter what you do".

Lizzie got up out of her chair and walked around the table to give Olivia a tight hug. Olivia was sure she felt another tear escape her as she felt Lizzie's arms tighten around her.

The rest of the night passed quickly as the group devoured every last slice of the pizza, laughing and talking all the way through. After cleaning up the small mess they had made, Olivia got up from her chair and let out a deep sigh. "Thank you guys for having me but I think I should get going" she said.

This time it was Dickie who protested, "No Liv, c'mon it's not even that late yet".

Olivia chuckled, "Guys, I can't stay here forever!" she said jokingly.

Elliot looked Olivia straight in the eyes, "You could" he said calmly and seriously.

Olivia blushed and decided to ignore his comment. Instead she put her hand on Elliot's strong arm and gave him an apologetic look, "I really do have to go" she said before turning back to the kids, "I'm glad the school called me today guys. Don't ever hesitate if you need anything". And with that Olivia put on her coat and walked out the door before any three of the Stabler's could say another word.

**A/N: Thanks for reading guys. I struggle with the chapter a little bit. Please send a few kind words my way, I would really appreciate it. Cheers! –rnovak.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here is chapter 7! I'm not sure if I'm going to be continuing this story, are you enjoying it? Send a review my way! Cheers!**

Olivia opened the door to her apartment and tossed her coat and keys to the side before crawling up into a ball on her couch. She pulled a thick blanket around her and allowed a few soft sobs to escape her. It had been such a crazy day but never in a million years would she have imagined that it would have turned out like this. She loved Elliot and he loved her… could it really be? Was this just a dream? Olivia didn't know what to do she was so overcome with emotions. She sat there and cried for a few minutes before her phone ringing from across the room startled her. After momentarily debating whether or not she wanted to answer it, she unwillingly lifted herself up off from the couch, "Hi Elliot" she said knowingly.

"Hey, um, how did you know it was me?" he asked on the other line.

"El, you're the only person in the whole world who would call me at this hour to check on me. Actually you're the only person in the world who would check on me at all" she said sadly.

A piece of Elliot's heart broke as Olivia spoke. He hated that she thought she was so alone. "Liv you know you that I-"

"Don't say it El. Please" she pleaded.

"Liv, are we okay? I thought that maybe you…" he couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.

"I do El. You know I do. It's just.. been a long day and I really need some sleep" she sighed. On the other end of the line she could hear mumblings in the background. She laughed when she heard Lizzie grab the phone from her dad.

"Hey Liv! It's Lizzie. Did you get home okay?"

Olivia smiled, she loved those kids so much, "Yeah baby I did. Thank you for asking. Shouldn't you be going to bed now?"

Lizzie chuckled and without thinking said, "Ha-ha gosh Liv you're such a mom!" immediately Lizzie regretted her choice of words. "I'm sorry Liv, I just- you're so much like a mom to me and I um-"

"Don't worry about it Lizzie. It's fine just go to sleep soon okay?" she said recovering from the awkwardness with ease.

"Alright but before I go can I ask you something?" Lizzie asked biting the inside of her check as she spoke.

Olivia hesitated hoping it wouldn't be anything too heavy, she wasn't ready to answer any questions about her and Elliot. She didn't even know the answers herself yet. Finally she said, "Sure Lizzie what's up?"

"Well Dickie and I were wondering and kind of well hoping that maybe you would come to out school family carnival this weekend? It's this outdoor winter wonderland and it's going to be really cool and everyone is going to be there. Please, please say you'll come!" Lizzie pleaded, unaware that her dad was still standing behind her.

Olivia shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she could hear how badly Lizzie wanted her to come and if she was being honest with herself she really wanted to go too. But she needed to figure out what was going on with her and Elliot before she made any commitments, "I'll think about honey okay? Can I talk to your dad again?"

"Ok Liv. Please come I really want you there. Maureen and Kathleen and coming home for it too! I'm sure they'd love to see you. Anyways, night Liv! Love you" Lizzie said before handing the phone back to her waiting father.

Olivia froze, Lizzie had never told her that she loved her before. Before she could say it back, Elliot came back on the line, "Liv? You there?".

"Um yeah El I'm here.." Olivia said still trying to register everything that had happened tonight. Lizzie was now the second Stabler to say 'I love you' to her.

"So the carnival huh? It'll be fun. What do you say? I can pick you up and we can all maybe grab something to eat before we go" Elliot proposed again.

"Look Elliot stop! Just stop okay?! You can't just spring all of this on me at once! What do you expect of me? I only JUST found out you were divorced today! And after all these years you decide tonight to tell you that you love me?! You can't do this to me Elliot. You want me to say it? Fine. I'll say it. I have been so in love with you for as long as I can remember but every time I think I'm getting close to telling you, I can't because I don't want to get hurt!"

"IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK LIV? YOU THINK I'M GOING TO HURT YOU?!" Elliot demanded, trying to mask the hurt in his voice.

Quietly Olivia answered, "I don't know El. Thins between us have always been so complicated. ….You didn't even tell me that you kissed that Dani Beck woman when I was gone" she said shyly, trying to hide the jealously, hurt and confusion that she was feeling.

"Are you kidding me Liv? How do you even know about that?!"

"CLEARLY NOT FROM YOU!" she shouted. "If you really want to know, I was coming back to tell you that I was in love with you but decided to turn around when I saw you kissing her." Olivia was getting worked up, all she could seem to think about was all the secrets between them that were now shattering their relationship.

"Liv it didn't mean anything. I was missing you like crazy and she was right there. Look, that shouldn't mean anything. I love you Liv. Not Kathy, not Dani, YOU." Elliot insisted.

"Elliot I really can't do this right now, I-"

"Why. Why not Olivia? Don't you think we've waited long enough, tortured ourselves long enough. Why can't you just let me love you?"

"Because I'm broken Elliot. I'm damaged and as soon as you realize that you're going to leave me just like everyone else. And I honestly don't think I will be able to handle it because you mean EVERYTHING to me Elliot and if you hurt me I think I would die".

Elliot was silent on the other end for a minute before he finally spoke, "I can't believe you think so little of me Liv, I would never hurt you and if you don't know that than maybe you really don't know me. God Olivia I love you. You are always there to pick up the pieces when I break, do you really think I would leave you just because you think you're broken. Who isn't a little broken Liv? I love you and I know you love me" when Olivia said nothing in return Elliot felt his heart shatter a little bit. "But hey, maybe I'm wrong. I can't do this anymore Olivia. I've loved you for so long and it's hurting me knowing that you love me too but that you won't do anything about it. I think I need some air. Goodbye Olivia" and with that Elliot hung up the phone.

Olivia ran to her bedroom and threw herself onto her bed sobbing harder than ever. She had done it again, she always pushed away everyone who cared about her because she was too scared to love. As she cried into her pillow she prayed that she hadn't just lost the single most important person in her life.

**A/N: Sooo what do you think? Hope it's all good thoughts! Leave me a review! Cheers! –rnovak **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I think I'm almost done with this story so be sure to check out my other E/O stories as well! I absolutely love getting reviews they make my day! Hope you like this one, Cheers! **

The next morning, Olivia woke up feeling like she had the worlds worst hangover, which was weird because she didn't even have a drop of alcohol the night before. Her head was pounding as if there were a stampede of elephants stopping around, she could tell her eyes were swollen from crying so much and as she tried to sit up she immediately felt the room spinning in circles. Shutting her eyes she reached around until she found her phone and blindly dialed the number to the precinct. It rung twice before Cragen finally answered, "Benson? Where are you?".

Olivia winced, he wasn't quite yelling but she wasn't prepared for loud noses just yet. "Yeah sorry Cap. I'm really not feeling well. I think I'm going to take a few days off and try and recover from… whatever I'm feeling" she said. Olivia nearly bit down on her tongue. What she wanted to say was that she was going to try and recover from a broken heart but then it would lead to questions that she wasn't prepared to answer.

Cragen sighed, "Yeah something must be going around. Stabler called in a few minutes ago saying the same thing. Okay, well I guess I'll have to manage around here without my two best detectives for a few days. Take care of yourself Benson, you don't sound so good".

Olivia tossed her phone somewhere on the ground and sighed, if only he knew how true that was. She pulled the blankets up back over her and realized that she hadn't even bothered to change before falling asleep. She shimmied out of her jeans and stripped herself of that blue sweater she had been so excited to wear. Lying practically bare against her sheets, Olivia finally felt a smidge of comfort and did her best to go back to sleep and escape the day.

Back in Queens, Elliot was standing in his kitchen pouring himself a cup of coffee to try and wake up. He had barely gotten a wink of sleep last night and was trying desperately to think about anything other than Olivia. Just then he heard footsteps coming from upstairs. He had somewhat heard Lizzie tell him that she was leaving for school this morning but couldn't remember if Dickie had already left too. His question was answered when his teenage son came running down the stairs, "Hey dad. I'm starving. Want me to make some pancakes or something?" he asked casually.

Elliot glanced at the kitchen clock, it was already 9:00 in the morning, school had started an hour ago, "Uh better question. Shouldn't you be at school?" he asked raising an eyebrow. The truth was he was kind of glad that Dickie was home to distract him but he wasn't going to let him know that.

"Yeah um, I'm not feeling too well *cough cough*" Dickie was never good at pretending "And I know if you weren't as hungry as I am you'd be upset so how about I make breakfast and we call it even" he proposed as he made his way towards the fridge.

"Fine Dickie, you can stay home. But just today okay?" Elliot sighed.

Dickie nodded and began fiddling around the kitchen, pulling out pots and pans and stirring some batter.

"Since when did you learn to cook?" Elliot asked, impressed with his son.

Dickie shrugged, "I don't know. Kathy stopped cooking about a year ago so I just kind of picked it up. Lizzie's awful at it and someone in this family has to be a decent cook" he said playfully. Elliot set the table while Dickie finished up breakfast and in no time the pair were sitting down happily chatting about sports and whatnot. They were keeping casual conversation until Elliot looked down at his plate and then back up to his son. "Dickie, I'm really sorry about how things turned out with your mom. I want you to know that I really did try. I did. Even though we stopped loving each other a long time ago, I thought we could at least stay together until you kids were older. I still can't believe she didn't even show up to court" Elliot said, shaking his head.

"Dad it's not your fault" Dickie said uncomfortably. He was never very good with emotional conversations, he took after his mom that way. In an attempt to lighten the mood Dickie nudged his father, "Besides by the looks of it I may be getting a new mom soon. And this time a real one, one who loves us" he said only half jokingly. When his dad didn't laugh or even blush, Dickie burrowed his brows in confusion. "Oh c'mon dad we saw you and Liv kiss last night and we're totally cool with it. Honestly. You know Lizzie adores her and Liv's been really good to me so I don't know I kind of like her too" he said. Staring at his dad who now looked like he was about to cry, Dickie was getting worried. "Dad, what's wrong?".

"Not now Dickie. I don't want to talk about it" Elliot said more firmly than he intended.

"Oh dad! Please tell me you didn't mess things up with the one person who actually puts up with you! You know you have the hots for Olivia and I see the way she looks at you, I know she's madly in love with you too. What's stopping you?!" Dickie aid getting up from the table.

"It's not that easy son" Elliot said.

"Yeah well if you love her and she loves you it seems pretty simple to me. Don't let her get away dad. She's the best thing that's ever happened to this family. She IS this family. She's helped us out more times that Kathy ever did and I know she makes you happy. Go after her dad. You know how Liv gets, she puts up all these walls to protect herself. Let her know that she doesn't need protecting form you. Let her know that you'll protect her" Dickie said triumphantly.

Elliot stared back at his 17-year old kid. "When did you get so smart kid?" Elliot said as he threw some dishes in the sink before grabbing his car keys and running towards the door. Over his shoulder he yelled back at his son, "You and your sister go ahead and have dinner. If everything goes right, I'm hoping I won't be back to join you!".

Dickie shook his head and climbed the stairs two at a time. He was going to have to text Lizzie about this, otherwise she'd freak when she got home.

Cozy in her bed Olivia had thrown on her favourite movie, "Friends With Benefits" she loved Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis was totally woman-crush worthy. Olivia hadn't moved from her bed all morning and after she got another hour of sleep decided to turn on her feel-good movie hoping that it would well, make her feel good. Unfortunately instead of making her laugh like it usually did, the movie had her in tears half way through. She related to Mila Kunis's character a lot more than she had wanted to admit. She didn't let people in. She was emotionally damaged. And it was far too complicated with the one man she actually wanted. "Aughhhh" Olivia exclaimed in frustration, shutting the TV off as she threw her remote across the room. She was about to roll back to sleep when she heard a knock at the front of her door.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think I figured out where I'm heading with this story. Definitely going to wrap it up soon. Please leave a review. Cheers! -rnovak**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Only a couple more chapters to go! I could really use a pick me up right about now. Please send some kind words my way. Cheers!**

Olivia looked towards the door, wondering who it could be. She hoped it wasn't Alex coming over to check on her, she really wasn't in the mood for any company. She laid back on her bed and thought that maybe if she didn't make any noise, whoever it was would go away. She closed her eyes and counted backwards from 100 waiting patiently for the incessant knocking to stop. One minute went by and then two and Olivia was getting very annoyed. Finally she yelled out at the person who was disturbing her solitary peace, "GO AWAY!". When there was no reply she thought that she had done the trick, rolling over onto her side willing herself to fall back asleep. She only just got comfortable when the knocking started again, "UGH WHOEVER YOU ARE GO AWAY!" she yelled again, only louder this time.

Still laying in down in bed refusing to move partly because she was still naked, Olivia could barely make out a faint voice coming from outside of her apartment door, "Liv it's me. Please open the door".

The sound of Elliot's soft voice in this moment was enough to reduce strong badass Detective Olivia Benson to tears as she brought her knees to her chest and slowly rocked back in forth in her bed trying to figure out what to do. Finally decided that she really didn't want to see him yet especially after everything that was said last night, "Please just go home El" she said through her muffled sobs.

Elliot leaned against the door, he hated knowing that Olivia was crying, "I just want to talk to you please Olivia don't shut me out".

Olivia stared blankly into the hallway from her bedroom, Elliot rarely ever called her 'Olivia'. "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY APARTMENT BUILDING STABLER!" she cried out.

"No" Elliot said simply, "And if you don't open the door in the next ten seconds I'm going to let myself in with the key you gave me years ago" he threatened.

Her eyes widened, she had forgotten she gave him her spare key. "Not a chance. That key is only for emergencies" Olivia yelled back loudly. She felt bad for her neighbours and instantly hoped that none of them were home to hear the ruckus.

"Clearly this is an emergency. C'mon Liv I really need to talk to you"

"Are the kids okay?" Olivia asked hoping they haven't gotten into any more trouble in school.

"Yeah they're fine" Elliot answered and he couldn't help but smile. Olivia was always looking out for his kids.

"Then I don't want to talk to you… at least right now!" she trailed off for a moment as if contemplating whether she actually did want to talk to him. Then remembering all that had been said she made up her mind, "GO AWAY!" she screamed. Even though she wanted nothing more than to run to the door and throw herself into Elliot's arms.

Olivia heard the key turn in the lock with CLICK and door being pushed open and closed again from the inside. "Liv?" Elliot called out calmly as he walked past the kitchen, somewhat expecting her to be lying on the couch watching her favourite movie _Friends With Benefits_. But he paused and noticed that Olivia's only two dishes were still unwashed and piled in the sink along with a few glasses and utensils. He looked at his watch and sighed knowing that meant that she probably hadn't eaten thing all day and it was already getting way into the afternoon. "Look I didn't come to fight I just want to talk" he went on "we-I shouldn't have left things the way we did last night. I drove like a maniac all the way from Queens to Manhattan, sprinted up five flights of stairs and just semi-broke in to your apartment. The least you can do is hear me out" he reasoned as she made his way slowly towards her bedroom where he guessed she hadn't moved from all morning.

Olivia rolled her eyes and tried not to smile. She wasn't all that surprised, Elliot was known to be a stubborn SOB at times so it made sense that he would've done all those things just to be able to have a conversation with her. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to him, it was just that she had so much to say that she didn't know where to start. Knowing that Elliot was coming in whether she was ready or not, she felt around the bed looking for a shirt or something to throw on so that she wasn't completely naked when Elliot walked in the room. Unfortunately Elliot was too quick and had already reached the frame of her bedroom door before she could locate a shirt or something, forcing her to suffice with pulling her blankets up to her chin to cover herself best she could.

"Elliot are you lost? This isn't your apartment!" Olivia said as a matter of factly.

"Clearly not" he scoffed "This place is a disaster did a tornado rip through here? Seriously Liv would it kill you to clean up once and-"

Olivia interrupted him "Did you come all the way over here to criticize my domestic habits or do you actually have something to say?" She asked growing impatient by the second. Even though she was still angry with Elliot she couldn't help but notice how unbearably handsome he was, standing there right in front of her. His light blue eyes were causing her to melt and as his muscular chest rose and fell with each breath he took Olivia had trouble remembering why she was so upset in the first place. His silky voice broke her trance as she raised her gaze to meet his as he began to spoke.

"Liv I'm so sorry things ended the way it did last night I don't know about you but I didn't sleep at all. I know I pushed you a little too hard but it's only because I'm so in love with you but the last thing I want to do is scare you off. I've wasted so long trying to push my feelings away and I guess now that I've finally admitted them I just can't wait to yah know... act on them. I want to be able to kiss you everyday and tell you how much I love you and one day I want to ma-..." Elliot trailed off into his own thoughts as he sat down on the foot of Olivia's bed and stared aimlessly at the floor.

"El... Hey El? You still here?" Olivia said as she sat up slightly in bed still gripping the sheets tightly.

"I know I'm probably putting too much pressure in you Liv but God I love you. I love you so much and-" again he was cut off by Olivia.

She leaned forward and out a hand gently on Elliot's strong back and rubbed it comfortingly before finally speaking, "Elliot I love you too, I do. I'm just scared. I'm scared that I'm not good enough for you and that you'll realize it. I'm scared of ruining of friendship, maybe we should just be friends" she said shyly.

Elliot whipped around, catching Olivia off guard as he planted his lips softly on hers kissing her with all the passion he could muster. Reluctantly pulling back he looked into her deep brown eyes and slowly said, "Tell me now that you'd be okay just being friends for the rest of our lives"

Olivia ran a hand through her hair still trying to catch her breath, "You know I can't do that. But I think you also know deep down that you can do a whole lot better than a broken woman. El people have broken me into pieces so small I wasn't even sure that I existed anymore" she said sadly as she reached out to cup Elliot's soft cheek with her hand just as a single warm tear rolled down her face.

"Liv you may not be perfect but you're perfect to me. I want to me the one to help you pick up the pieces and put them back together because that's what you've done for me our entire partnership" Elliot said as he stared blatantly at Olivia's soft, full lips. He watched as Olivia's tongue slipped briskly to lip the crease of her pink lips and had to fight all of his instincts to not take her in his arms right there and then.

Olivia slid her hand down Elliot's face and stopped on his buff chest where she could make out his rapid heartbeat. Nobody had ever said anything like this to her before and the truth was he was the only person she wanted to hear it from. She had dreamed about the day this moment since the moment she first laid eyes on Elliot. The moment when they would both be able to fully love each other. The moment where she could finally be herself with the person she loved and know that he loved her in spite of her flaws. In a hushed voice Olivia whispered, "El?"

Without looking up from her luscious lips he quietly answered, "Yeah Liv?"

Without thinking Olivia wrapped both of her arms around Elliot's neck letting the blanket fall from her grasp revealing her very generous chest and for the first time since he had gotten there Elliot realized that Olivia was naked beneath those thin sheets. Olivia heard Elliot's breath hitch ever so slightly as she kept her eyes locked on his piercing pools of blue irises and with a whisper she simply said, "Kiss me".

Elliot was not the type of person to be told twice as he gently pushed Olivia back against the mattress, crashing his lips against hers. He broke their hold to quickly rid himself of his shirt and heard Olivia moan in his mouth when their bare skin made contact. Elliot wanted to stay in this moment forever, he wanted to show Olivia how much he loved her; this wasn't just going to be about the sex, this was going to be about making love.

And with that the detectives soon lost track of where Olivia began and Elliot ended. Tangled up in each other's arms they made passionate love to one another over and over again until they were both panting and out of breath. Pulling Olivia close against his body Elliot sighed happily, "I love you so much Liv" he said quietly.

Beside him Olivia let another sole tear escape her as she turned around to face her gorgeous partner as she pecked a soft kiss on his lips, "I love you too El".

Before Elliot could say anything else his phone began to ring. He had no intention of answering it, not when he was lying next to the love of his life after just having been so intimate, but Olivia didn't seem to mind. "Go ahead, it might be important" she said sweetly.

Suddenly remembering that Lizzie and Dickie were home alone, he reached for his pants on the ground and fished through his pocket until he retrieved his ringing phone. He sighed and answered it without looking at the caller ID, "Hello…. Yes this is Detective Stabler what can I do for you?..." he tensed up as he spoke, "Of course we'll be right there… Yes.. Thanks for the call" he said quietly.

Olivia rolled her eyes and cuddled closer to Elliot, "You would think the precinct could go one night without needed us" she said assumingly.

"It wasn't the precinct" he said as he began to sit up "I'm so sorry Liv but we have to go" he pressed a kiss to Olivia's forehead before getting out of bed and throwing his clothes back on hastily.

**A/N: Who called?! I really like this chapter. Please review! Cheers!**


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Due to the great reviews I've been getting, I've decided to continue this story at least for a little while. Please keep sending me kind reviews, you have no idea how much I love reading them. Cheers! Olivia bit down on her lower lip and squeezed Elliot's free hand while he sped down the streets of Manhattan. "So.. are you going to tell me what's going on?" she asked nervously. After throwing on a pair of jeans and a hoodie she had followed Elliot out to his car and hopped in the passenger seat without question. Elliot was getting more and more anxious by the second so Olivia tightened her grip reassuringly on Elliot's hand and tried again, "El, who was on the phone?" Elliot slammed on the brakes as they hit a red light, he let go of Olivia's hand as he banged down on the steering wheel. Finally he turned towards Olivia, "Officer Holden down at the Queens precinct" he said. "Well why do they need us?" Olivia asked still confused as she glanced at the clock, it was getting late, it seemed the day had escaped them both. "They um don't" he sighed and scratched his head before continuing "They called because they found my courtesy shield in Dickie's wallet when the twins were arrested half an hour ago" Olivia nearly choked on the water she was sipping on when she heard the word arrested; and then nearly spit it out when the car flew forward at lightening speed. "Whoa! Elliot I know you want to get there as soon as possible but if we get into a car accident we may not make it there at all!" she said. The car swerved as they turned onto a street, "Seriously Stabler! Calm down and tell me what happened" she said as she retook Elliot's hand and began drawing circles on the back of his grasp with her thumb. Sighing Elliot's breathing began to slow down, "I don't know what's going on Liv. Holden just said to get down there. Apparently Lizzie and Dickie went to a party that got out of control and I guess there was some sort of altercation" he said clearly trying to piece it together himself. "Wait, did you say party? I thought they were getting picked on at school" Olivia said as she began to nervously chew on her lower lip again. "That's what I was thinking Liv. I'm afraid it was some sort of setup or something. But I don't want to get ahead of myself, I just want to get down there and figure out what the hell happened" he said as he pressed a little harder on the gas pedal. "Some detectives we are" Olivia scoffed as she sat back and allowed Elliot to race down the roads. The rest of the drive was relatively quiet, both were anxiously wondering how the kids were doing. What seemed like ages later they finally pulled up to the Queens' precinct and parked the car. Olivia expected Elliot to jump out of the car and fly through the doors but instead he simply sat with wide eyes. Olivia leaned over and kissed his cheek softly, "C'mon El it'll be okay. Take a deep breath. Let's go in… together". Elliot nodded and the two detectives got out of the car and made their way up through the front doors. They were almost instantly greeted by a man in uniform, "Detective Stabler. I'm Officer Grant, Officer Holden is with some of the other teenagers right now" he said before turning his head and blatantly giving Olivia a one over. "Gee Stabler, didn't think this was something you'd have to drag your partner out to this late in the night. I mean, I'm sure she had a thousand better offers" he said with a wink as he smacked his lips and continued to stare at Olivia's body. Elliot felt rage building in his body, even though Olivia was just wearing a sweater she was still very obviously a gorgeous woman and he hated the idea of men looking at her like a sex object. He wanted to punch Grant across the face but quickly remembered why they were both here. Positioning himself slightly between Grant and Olivia he bitterly addressed him, "Where are ou-my kids Officer?" he inwardly bit his tongue for almost referring to Lizzie and Dickie as "their" kids like he had done previously in the coffee shop. Just then Officer Holden came to meet Olivia and Elliot. After shaking their hands and greeting them briefly he ushered them towards a private room where they could speak. They filed into the room and Olivia took a seat next to Elliot discreetly placing her hand on his leg under the table and giving it a reassuring light squeeze. Holden looked at Olivia before turning to face a very frustrated Elliot. "Really Stabler? Was this something you really needed to bring your partner down here for? I mean not that I'm not glad she's here though" he said winking at Olivia. Olivia had enough she didn't liked being hit on, especially not by fellow members of the force, "Look Holden you just arrested his children, so could you please just let him see Elizabeth and Richard before I-" "Aright, alright" Holden cut her off. "Jeeze Stabler we didn't even arrest them. They were just brought in for some questioning but after what happened we very well could have arrested them before we found your courtesy card". Elliot shook his head very confused, "So what exactly happened then"? Holden leaned back in his chair before continuing, "We got a call from a neighbour saying something about public disturbance. We get to some house party and as soon as we walk in we have to break up a real ugly fight between your son and some other kid. We turn our heads and there's a group of girls in the corner that are screaming and yelling at each other about to get into a catfight. Not to mention there was more than a dozen underage drinkers on site. We had no choice but to drag everybody in. We find out later from several individuals that your kids were invited to this party only to be teased and whatnot when they got there. Look Stabler I don't know what's going on in your personal life, but things were definitely said before the fight ensued. You should talk to your kids. You can bring 'em home now though. Go fill out the usual paperwork at the front and I'll go get the kids," he said getting up from his seat. Olivia and Elliot walked out the reception area and Elliot breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm just so glad they weren't actually arrested. With Lizzie trying to get into NYU next year it would've crushed her. But I'm still livid. I can't believe they're having so much trouble with their peers. We're going to have to figure out what to do next" he said putting his head in his hands as he leaned against the wall. "It'll be okay El. We'll figure it out okay? Together." She said with a smile as she snaked her arms around Elliot and hugged him tightly. Suddenly the sounds of footsteps running towards them broke them apart. "DAD!" "LIV!" The twins all but jumped on the two detectives who were almost knocked over by the weight of the fully-grown kids. "Thanks for coming guys. I swear we'll explain everything when we all go home. Liv… you are coming home with us right?" Dickie pressed raising an eyebrow as he glanced at his dad, remembering their conversation from earlier. Olivia chuckled and looped her arms back around Elliot's waist, "I'd like nothing more" she said simply. The four of them embraced in a large hug feeling overcome with relief that they were all going home together. Then suddenly the sounds of clicking heels and an angry shrewd voice disrupted their happiness. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" she yelled causing Elliot to look up utterly shocked at what… or rather who was returning his gaze. Protectively pushing Olivia and the twins behind him, his eyebrows buried in confusion and anger as he spoke, "Kathy?" A/N: Please review I'd appreciate it! Cheers. 


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